Here Are 6 Things You Could Be Doing To Poop Better

Bowel movements get a bum rap, but they shouldn't! Try these cheeky lifestyle and movement tips to get you, uh, moving.

1. Take a walk after you eat.

Exercise not only helps stimulate the natural contractions of muscles in your intestines (where poop lives), but doing so directly after eating has been shown to reduce food's "transit time" through the intestinal tract! In other words, your poop is literally just more efficient. Ef-flush-ient, if you will.

2. Calm your nerves.

Actual doctors have said it, so it's official: Mood matters! When your mind is in pieces, your body can't make feces. You can practice some basic breathing techniques to keep calm, or try vigorous yoga breathing, which contracts the abdomen more forcefully.

3. Find your fibre sweet spot.

People will often tell you that if you aren't pooping, you must need more fibre. But there are different kinds of fibre, and too much can stop you up just as much as too little! Craft a perfect poop cocktail by testing increases in soluble fibre (which attracts water) and insoluble fibre (which adds bulk) in your diet.

4. Muscle up where it matters.

Core strength isn't just for showing off a six-pack! Your pelvic floor muscles play a major role in keeping your waste in until it's ready to come out, and helping position you for the deed itself. So if you really want to nail that fully empty feeling, tone your pelvic floor with some easy mat exercises you can do at home. Added bonus: being closer your own washroom.

5. Do the twist (to the right).

Your large intestine, or colon, does the bulk of the work in helping to form and dispel waste from the body. Doing gentle twists to the right helps widen the ascending colon, which is your poop's first leg of the journey out of you and into the toilet. Get that food baby movin'!

6. Fall back in love with your washroom.

There's no place like home, especially when it comes to pooping. In the same way that you might have trouble going number two in a public washroom, coming home to a private one triggers an almost inverse physiological response. So turn your washroom into the palace of excrement it aspires to be! Put some nice scents in there, redecorate...or just buy a bidet to really treat your bum like the poop kween it is.

Poop better. Sleep better. Breathe better. See the ways that a more active lifestyle can improve every part of your life with ParticipACTION.

Illustrations by Lyla Ribot / BuzzFeed ©. Additional images by Getty Images.